Tuesday, 30 May 2017

I feel photographs were way ahead of their times, a bit like some people. Photos were around since we were kids. But they are getting their due only now. Earlier, we used to take pictures, look at them, admire them and then lock them away in plastic albums. They never got their due. But now, they are liked, commented on and reacted to at multiple platforms. This is the era of Photography! Here are a few of my clicks and the crazy thoughts that were passing through my mind when I was clicking those pics.

I don’t know what is with me and chocolates/candies. I LOVE them, so much so that any friend/relative returning from abroad know what to get me (I keep reminding them shamelessly ;) ). But this one was from Namma Bengaluru. My friends Partha, John and I were hanging out at a mall and happened to see this candy store. We bought these. I was delighted, to say the least, to have them. I think it is some happy memory from childhood that I associate with them which makes me want to have them again, again and again!

There is a 200-year-old temple festival called “Thrissur Pooram” in my hometown, Thrissur in Kerala. This moment captured here is when the Lord comes out of the temple to participate in one of the most significant ceremonies of the festival. What you see here are the symbols of the Lord announcing his arrival. I was drenched in the Kerala summer surrounded by the cacophony of thousands of people. Yet, I distinctly remember that there was a solace about this moment.

Those little things that look like tiny little stars in a galaxy are lilies. I was walking through my office from one building to another and there they were, bright, beautiful and buoyant. It’s wonderful as to how a sight can lift your spirits, isn’t it? These flowers were such a sight to behold. I just wanted to sit there and wait for them to bloom. But then, life comes in the way of such beautiful things J

I was home for Vishu, the Kerala Newyear. My little cousin was wearing those anklets. How so beautiful, arent they? I made her remove them and then help me make this pattern. It isn’t as easy as you think. We easily spend about 20 minutes to make them stay like that. But then, look at that color! Who wouldn’t want to click a picture?

I was at my B-school for alumni meet. A bunch of spirited juniors made us play this little game wherein we had to stack one chair over the other. I couldn’t stop wondering about how these little things – Chairs, have become symbols of power. People fight for them everywhere – Offices, Governments, Kingdoms and everywhere else. Symbols do matter!

Nope, that’s not what you think. I was at the Dyu art café in Bangalore along with my friends from work. That bottle and glasses were used to serve water at the café. I knew if I put up a pic like this, everyone would want to think of it as anything but water. It was that mischief about it that made me click this J

Look at that picture! It has all the colors in the world – well almost! It is a common sighting in the festival grounds of Kerala. We call it ‘Kattadi’ in Malayalam. It is an ornate toy fan. This stood like a bright spot of childhood in the crowded festival ground that is life. How beautifully creative is the human mind, isn’t it?

Like the above pics? Want to be bombarded with such images on a regular basis? ;). Please follow me on Instagram. My Insta handle is roamdworld .

Tuesday, 14 February 2017

Photographs are the poetry of masses, don’t you think? I love photography and the magic around it. It gifts us the ability to craft a story in a 4*6 space. In this time of timelessness, photos are the easiest way of archiving our memories. This Picstory, my attempt to weave a story with pictures is special for this one is about my sister’s weddingJ.

This was the wedding card. Upon seeing this is when I got the idea to do a photo trail of the wedding. Red is so the color of a wedding, isn’t it? – Bright, Vibrant and spirited. Like all things in wedding, there was a lot of back and forth on finalizing this card. I so loved the idea of the couple and the elephant on the cover. For someone from Kerala, it can’t get more festive than this!

No South Indian wedding can be complete without Jasmine. Often we forget that fragrances form an integral part of our memory. A fond scent can evoke those memories which we think we have forgotten. The heavenly smell that emanates from these lovely flowers is always identified with weddings in my part of the world.

That is the bride trying on her jewels. These days, there is a constant debate between the bride and the relatives on how much jewelry need to be worn. The bride wants to wear less of them and the relatives can’t seem to think any number of ornaments is a bit much.

Any Indian wedding is a retailer’s dream. The amount of clothes purchased is beyond belief. Clothes are gifted to relatives, extended family and to dear ones in social circles. It is fun to see people trying on clothes and admiring others and themselves. It adds to the festivity and makes the wedding a riot of colors.

These garlands form a pivotal part of the wedding ceremony. It is when the bride and groom exchange these garlands that they are joined in matrimony. I envy the craftsmen who weave them. What a wonderful job they do, to be able to contribute towards joining two minds forever, isn’t it?

My sister is the kind who hardly wear any ornaments. To see her try on those anklets was a moment in itselfJ. Enhancing the beauty of the moment was the intricate Mehendi patterns on her leg and hands. How artists make this world more lovable, isn’t it?

There is something about a house about to host a wedding. It is not merely the decoration that adorns it. It is also about the festivity around the house. There is constant chatter, chaos and celebration. It is almost as if the house is having a runner’s rush!

Like the above pics? Want to be bombarded with such images on a regular basis? ;). Please follow me on Instagram. My Insta handle is roamdworld .

Thursday, 1 December 2016

Pictories #2 ~ Of pictures and their stories

These days, we all click pictures. I think, of the many things which social media managed to do was to take away the elitism from photography. Anyone with a cell phone is a photographer these days. Of course, this does not mean that all of us take good pictures. But we all try. What I request all the shutter bugs though is to use a line or two to describe your thoughts while you took the picture. This would add more gravitas to the picture than reducing them to mere hashtags, don’t you think? Here are a few clicks of mine and what I think of them.

While trying to capture these two people on a boat in the middle of the sea, I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about the beauty of solitude and friendship. If there were only one person on that boat, it would have been only about solitude and how it helps one to reflect on thoughts and life in general. The presence of second person there makes it to be about friendship too. How blessed one should be to find someone in the journey of life with whom one can share one’s silences too.

That my friends, is a spread from Murugan Idli at Besant nagar beach in Chennai. I literally had to stop myself from diving right in to that banana leaf before clicking this picture. Those of you who haven’t had Murugan Idlis have no clue how delicious a humble food like Idli and those chutneys can get. Don’t even get me started about the sweet pongal. There are very few things as therapeutic as good food, isn’t it?

My little sister is getting married. We were at the jewelry store to buy gold and this is something which we all liked. Look at the intricate work that has gone in to the pendant. What adds to the glory is the little red, green and pink stones around the pendant. It speaks volumes about its creator. How swiftly time passes by. One moment before, we were kids fighting for the larger bar of chocolate and now, she is getting married!

How beautiful this house is! The little corridor which is ideal to read a book or to just wile away time chit chatting with your friends, the thatched roof, and most importantly the sun and the sand. I have failed to understand as to why people like mountain and mist and snow so much. I have always been an admirer of a bright sunny day. This picture somehow reminds me of my summer vacations spend in Palakkad, my mother’s place. Somehow I feel these houses have a soul to them unlike the concrete blocks that surrounds us these days.

There is something oddly intriguing about a lone tree, isn’t there? It rises high above everything else around it. Yet there is a sense of loneliness to it. In this particular one, it is by the side of a pool overlooking a sea. I wonder what the tree might be thinking. Is it looking only at the pool admiring its own reflection? Is it aware of the vast ocean ahead of it? Is it trying to decide as to which side it should grow towards? Only the tree can tell.

Like the above pics? Want to be bombarded with such images on a regular basis? ;). Please follow me on Instagram. My Insta handle is roamdworld .

Thursday, 3 November 2016

I have always admired people who can capture a moment in time more beautifully than we, the lesser mortals see it. Yes, the magicians who create magic with a lens and a click – Photographers! Such talented people. I shared some of my pictures with one of my friends, who is a very talented artist. He told me “Yea, these are ok. You will get better”. I was not exactly excited to hear those words. But I know what he meant and he is too earnest a friend J. It takes a lot of patience, an eye for detail and an eye for beauty that we see around us to get that perfect click. So I will keep trying.

Meanwhile, I thought I will try and share what was going through my mind when I was clicking these pictures. It is indeed true that a picture speaks a 1000 words. And the best part, it speaks different sets of words to each of us. So here goes J

This was clicked at the Infosys office in Chennai. In that moment, I was thinking, how much ever we try, we rarely come close to what nature can achieve. Look at the magnificent canopy that nature has created for itself and for us! Do you see the little patches of light on the road? Intricate, isn’t it? And many a time, we get so caught up with our work and life to pause and take a look around. It is all that takes to make our day.

Looks can be deceptive. These Jalebis were not as tasty as they looked. I wish if I hadn’t eaten them before taking a click. Had I not tasted, I would have had a happy memory around this pic. Now when I see it, all I can think of is the mild disappointment. I always eat the dessert first if it’s on my plate. Patience doesn’t really come to my help in those moments. How about you?

I feel there isn’t even one color in the world which is not present in this picture. These are handmade, little flowers made out of palm and coconut leaves. I have always been drawn to handicraft. What intrigues me is the fact that each and every one of these little things is made by a person. It is not created by the mere movement of machines. There is a story behind each of them.

Words fail when we try to describe the beauty of fire. My wife and I were out for a stroll at night. There was this fire burning by the road side. Being in Bangalore, fire and its warmth from the distance is quite welcome. I stopped and stared for a while admiring how fascinating fire is. Very few things in life can destroy with as much grace and poise the way fire does.

Now, those of you who have spent your childhood in Kerala would relate to this picture. This is a little bucket resting on the pavement of a well waiting to be flung in. In olden houses of Kerala, these windows will open out to the well from the kitchen. There will be a similar window on the other side of the well that opens to the bathroom. Much before motor pumps started humming, water used to come up in these little buckets. This picture brings back memories of childhood.

Like the above pics? Want to be bombarded with such images on a regular basis? ;). Please follow me on Instagram. My Insta handle is roamdworld .Check out the other Pictories:Find Pictory #2 hereFind Pictory#3 hereFind Pictory#4 hereThank you dear Nandakumar uncle for putting this idea of Phlogging (Photo – Blogging, as he calls it) in my head.

Friday, 27 March 2015

Happiness in Pixels

A photograph is one of the most beautiful expressions of art. What makes it so likeable is that it is pleasant on the eyes or it ought to be when some of us click that is ;). I think what makes it so mystic is the frozen time about that frame. In spite of all the advancements mankind has made, time has always been elusive. It has always slipped away from our hands. A picture gives us the illusion of having conquered time although for a moment.

It is indeed true that a picture speaks a thousand words. Is that why many a time pictures tell the most beautiful stories? What I like about the story woven through a picture is that it is open to the interpretation of audience unlike a story woven through words. A handful of words can tell only one story. A picture on the other hand, can tell a hundred stories depending on who sees it and how they see it.

The best thing about photography is that you can choose what you want to see and what you want to show. You might be looking at a pond with weeds spread all over. You spot a Kingfisher who has chosen to sit on a twig parched on a rock with water so clear around it that you can see the bottom of the pond. You can now click only that small periphery and make the whole pond look good. That is the magic of photography!

How can we not think of memories when it comes to photos. There are moments in life which one would want to revisit. I would say photographs are the best way to time travel. One look at an old picture is all it takes to bring the fond memories of the seemingly forgotten past to come rushing by. When you find time, sit down with your friends or family and go through old family albums. Believe me, it is like walking in to an old home where you spent your childhood in. If you are lucky enough, you will have someone to reminisce the story behind those photos with.

Photography used to be a selfless act until the selfie came along that is J. At every function, there used to be one family member or a friend who goes on clicking a moment of togetherness, happiness or celebration without them being a part of the frame. But on the brighter side, selfie has made photography more inclusive. The artist do not have to stand away from the art. He/she is also a part of the creation. It is like acknowledging the presence of the paintbrush on a beautiful canvas J.

Like any other art, photography too is an expression of the artist who clicks. I wonder how beauty is so obvious to them in the vastness of nature. I am amazed as to how they contain a story in an 8X10 frame. I wish if I will ever understand how they make a seemingly passing moment turn in to the memory of a life time!